Sextus Afranius Burrus (born AD 1 in Vasio, Gallia Narbonensis;[1] died AD 62) was a prefect of the Praetorian Guard and was, together with Seneca the Younger, an advisor to the Roman emperor Nero, making him a very powerful man in the early years of Nero's reign.[2]
Sextus Afranius Burrus | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 Gallia Narbonensis, Vasio |
| Died | 62 (aged 60–61) Rome |
| Allegiance | Roman Empire |
| Years of service | 50 AD – 62 |
| Rank | Praetorian prefect |
| Commands | Praetorian Guard |
Agrippina the Younger chose him as Prefect in 51 to secure her son Nero's place as emperor after the death of Claudius.[3] For the first eight years of Nero's rule, Burrus and Nero's former tutor Seneca helped maintain a stable government. Burrus acquiesced to Nero's murder of Agrippina the Younger but lost his influence over Nero anyway. He died in 62, some say from poison, though officially he died of throat cancer.[4][5]
The cognomen "Burrus" is the Latin version of the name Pyrrhus, king of Epirus.
Sources
editReferences
edit- ^ CIL XII, 5842 = ILS 1321. English translation Robert K. Sherk (1988). The Roman Empire: Augustus to Hadrian. Cambridge University Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-521-33887-5.
- ^ Albino Garzetti (1974). From Tiberius to the Antonines: A History of the Roman Empire AD 14-192. Routledge. pp. 611f. ISBN 978-1-317-69844-9.
- ^ Anthony A. Barrett (1996). Agrippina: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Early Empire. Yale University Press. pp. 122f. ISBN 978-0-300-07856-5.
- ^ Boris Rankov (1994). The Praetorian Guard. Osprey Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-85532-361-2. Archived from the original on 14 February 2016.
- ^ Tom Holland. Dynasty. p. 400.
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